The prison was given a full inspection in August 2025, the full report can be read on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website, just follow the links below. In their latest report the inspectors said:
HMP Northumberland is a category C training and resettlement prison run on behalf of HM Prison and Probation Service by Sodexo, holding 1,223 men, around a third convicted of sexual offences, against a certified normal accommodation of 1,236. Inspectors rated safety and respect both reasonably good, unchanged, while purposeful activity improved to reasonably good, up from not sufficiently good, and preparation for release improved markedly to reasonably good, up from Poor, making it one of relatively few prisons to score reasonably good on all four tests at once.
Eighty-three per cent of prisoners said staff treated them with respect, well above similar prisons, and prisoners spent around nine and a half hours a day out of cell on weekdays. Ofsted rated education provision Good overall, and release preparation, previously Poor, had improved markedly, with regular offender manager visits and quicker housing referrals. Healthcare had introduced three dedicated “health zones” and expanded psychological therapy, and assault rates stayed below the average for similar prisons.
Inspectors nonetheless found rising drug availability linked to a sharp increase in violence, up more than 80% since the last inspection, and self-harm had more than doubled, though it remained below the comparator average. Very few prisoners moved into employment on release, among the lowest rates for comparable prisons, and monitoring of offence-related phone calls and mail was weak, with delays of up to two months. RAAC concrete found on site in April 2024 had forced the closure of several residential buildings, with refurbishment still under way at the time of the inspection.
Charlie Taylor
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
October 2025
To read the full reports, go to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website or follow the links below:
| Inspection report (PDF), Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Northumberland by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (27 August–12 September 2025, published 2 December 2025) | Easy read summary of the 2025 inspection report |
| Action plan, HM Prison and Probation Service action plan in response to the 2025 inspection of HMP Northumberland | |